Dustin Poirier, one of the greatest MMA fighters ever, will enter the Octagon for the final time on July 19. He will go up against Max Holloway, 33, at UFC 318 for the BMF title. The pay-per-view event will take place in New Orleans. The UFC wanted to give Poirier, 36, the chance to have his last bout in his home state of Louisiana.
Announcement
As a guest on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday, Poirier shared the news of the five-round main event. He said, “It’s going to be my final fight. I’m going to lay the gloves down in Louisiana where it all started for me. The whole journey started there, and I’m just honored to have the UFC on the same page and the state of Louisiana on the same page to make all this work. I didn’t know if it was going to all come together, but it did.”
Poirier has not fought in Louisiana since 2015. He was born in Lafayette and was presented with the key to the city in 2021.
Poirier vs. Holloway III
This will be the third fight between the legends Poirier (30-9) and Holloway (26-8). They first battled in 2012 as up-and-coming fighters in the featherweight division. Poirier forced Holloway to tap out via arm-triangle choke in round 1 at UFC 143. They met for the second time in 2019 for the interim lightweight championship. Poirier won again by unanimous decision. Will he be 3 for 3?
What’s Next?
Holloway is trying to bounce back after suffering a knockout loss to Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title in October. He is now moving up to the lightweight (155-pound division) permanently for the first time in his career. After his fight with Poirier, Holloway will be aiming for the lightweight title.
Final Thoughts
Poirier will be missed, and his retirement puts an end of a golden era for the lightweight division. He has defeated all-time great fighters like Conor McGregor (2x), Michael Chandler, Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis and Justin Gaethje. He has remained a title contender for most of the last decade. His only other BMF title bout resulted in a knockout loss to Gaethje in 2023.
